Now nearly four months later, LeBron James is admitting he should've handled his free agency differently.

Without being specific, James told reporters before the Heat played at New Jersey on Sunday that if he could go back and do some things differently, he would. He didn't specifically mention his hour-long show, "The Decision," but most reporters present in New Jersey assume it's what he meant.

Byron Scott has already identified one major problem. Now he has three days to try and fix it.

The Cavs have been outscored in the third quarter in each of their first three games this season. Boston started quickly in the second half and built a double-digit lead before the Cavs fought back. In the last two games against Toronto and Sacramento, the Cavs stopped fighting.

End 3Q: Kings 84, Cavs 82* Dreadful quarter for the Cavs, who didn't know how to react when the Kings finally decided to play a little defense. Kings players got their hands up and got active in the passing lanes, disrupting Cavs' flow. It didn't help matters any that the Cavs stopped making shots.

* Tyreke Evans scored 12 points in the quarter for the Kings, who doubled up the Cavs' scoring 31-15. Omri Casspi has made 4 of 5 3-pointers.

Anderson Varejao is back in tonight's starting lineup for the Cavaliers, but Mo Williams is not.

Varejao went through the walkthrough and will play his typical minutes against the Kings after missing Friday's game in Toronto to be with his sick father. But Byron Scott wants to hold Williams out just another couple of days. Barring any setbacks, Williams will play Tuesday against Atlanta.

In their opener against Boston, the Cavs looked like a playoff team. Tonight against Toronto, they looked like a lottery pick.

So what kind of team are they? It's far too early to tell, but the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. They won't always be as good as they looked against the Celtics, but they won't always be this bad, either.

Mo Williams missed his second straight game on Friday because of his groin injury and Byron Scott doesn't sound optimistic about tonight's game against Sacramento. It's not the danger of a back-to-back or getting Williams to learn the offense as much as it's Scott admittedly being paranoid.

"I'm analyzing it a little too much, being a little too overcautious about it,'' Scott said. "I normally leave it up to my players, but I know how this thing can affect him throughout the season if it's not completely gone."

Former Cavs guard Delonte West got into an altercation with new teammate Von Wafer at Celtics practice today, according to Hoopsworld and the Boston Herald.

West was guarding Wafer in a game of 3 on 3 when West repeatedly fouled Wafer, according to Hoopsworld.com. Wafer left for the locker room, but West followed him and threw the first punch before they wrestled, according to the Web site. Hoopsworld reported that the Celtics are contemplating waiving West, but director of basketball operations Danny Ainge told the Herald that's not true.

If the Toronto Raptors could go back two years ago, they'd probably want a mulligan for their 2008 draft.

The Raptors were interested enough in J.J. Hickson that they brought him in twice for pre-draft workouts. But instead of keeping the pick and selecting him, they sent the No. 17 selection to Indiana as part of the trade to acquire Jermaine O'Neal.

Anderson Varejao did not travel with the Cavs to Toronto today and is doubtful for tomorrow night's game against the Raptors. Varejao remained in Cleveland to be with his father, who will have heart surgery tomorrow in Cleveland.

It's been a difficult month for Varejao, who returned to Brazil at the start of training camp for the death of his grandfather.

For anyone who wondered what basketball would be like in Cleveland PLBJ (Post LeBron James), tonight provided an overwhelming response.

The game was tied at 82 with about six minutes left when both teams were coming out of a timeout. The near-sellout crowd inside the Q was standing and roaring as if James had just tossed powder into the air or soared from the free-throw line to the basket.

End 3Q: Celtics 73, Cavs 68* One of the keys to the Princeton offense, Byron Scott said early in training camp, is good outside shooters. Anthony Parker and Boobie Gibson are a combined 4 of 19 from the floor, yet the Cavs are still in the game.

* It's been a particularly frustrating debut for Gibson, who raised expectations with a terrific preseason (14.4 ppg). Gibson missed his first eight shots before nailing a 3-pointer. It's only one game. The Cavs are still expecting big things from him this season.

Below are excerpts from the Q&A Dan Gilbert held with the media prior to tip-off.

What are you looking for out of this team?:"We're all focused on the future. I'm just like any other fan and as anxious as everybody to kind of just see what this is going to look like and I feel really good about it. Byron Scott is a class act and he'd well loved by a lot of people around here and well respected and he's got a lot of history that is very, very positive so I can't wait to see how we do."

Mo Williams was scratched from tonight's opener against Boston as a precaution because of his injured groin. Ramon Sessions started in his place.

Coach Byron Scott called Williams "day to day" and wants him to get another hard practice or two in before returning to the court. Williams played in just one preseason game because of the injury, then missed five days recently to attend his father-in-law's funeral in Mississippi.

Cavs radio legend Joe Tait will have double bypass surgery and his aortic valve replaced next week. Tait, who will not return to the radio booth before 2011, had a catherization on Tuesday at The Cleveland Clinic.

The exact date of his surgery next week hasn't been set, nor has the date for his return to the booth. But it won't be during this calendar year. WTAM's Mike Snyder and Jim Chones will continue to fill in on the air.

Mo Williams is questionable for tomorrow's season opener against the Boston Celtics. Williams returned to the Cavaliers late Monday night and went through Tuesday's light practice, but coach Byron Scott said his previously injured groin needs re-evaluated and he needs brought up to speed on the offense. Scott instilled some new components over the five days while Williams was in Mississippi attending his father-in-law's funeral.

"We have to bring him up to speed," Scott said. "It's a matter of our team talking to him and looking at him. The therapist has to get his hands on him and see where he is as far as the injury he had. We'll re-evaluate him and go from there."

Jamario Moon knows he's a good dancer and a good comedian. Equally important, he certainly knows he's not LeBron James. Still, Moon has the unenviable task of trying to replace James at small forward this season for the Cavs.

Mo Williams is traveling back to Cleveland from Mississippi today following the death of his father-in-law. He is expected to rejoin the Cavs at practice tomorrow and will start Wendesday's opener against Boston.

It was a wasted preseason for Williams, who missed most of camp with a groin injury. He played in just one preseason game and the Cavs have added a few wrinkles to the offense since he departed on Friday. But Byron Scott is confident he'll quickly have his point guard up to speed.

Byron Scott saw good focus and intensity out of J.J. Hickson for the second straight practice. That was enough to name Hickson the starter at forward this season.

Scott officially anointed Hickson his starting power forward on Sunday, meaning the Cavs will start Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, Hickson and Anderson Varejao in the season opener against Boston. It's a vastly different lineup than last season's opener against the Celtics, which featured LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal. But Scott loves the depth on this team.

Cavs 83, Bucks 77The Cavs' quiet, serene training camp was shaken AND stirred tonight when Byron Scott unloaded on J.J. Hickson for not knowing the Princeton offense. Hickson had five turnovers, made a number of sloppy passes and was often out of position on offense.

Scott, who has passively tried motivating Hickson throughout training camp, had finally seen enough. He benched him for the entire fourth quarter, then hammered him after the game.

* Andrew Bogut is good. Really good. He looks like he needs a shower, but he has been a menace in the middle with four blocks. He swatted Anderson Varejao and Jawad Williams within minutes of each other.

* As good as the Cavaliers looked in beating the 76ers the other night, that's how sloppy they've been in the first half. Bad decision-making, poor shot selection, sloppy passes ... it hasn't been a good night. Yet they're still winning. Such is life with a young team learning a new system.

* Mo Williams was a late scratch following the death of his father-in-law. He has temporarily returned to Cleveland to gather his family before flying to Mississippi for the funeral. Ramon Sessions started at point guard in his place. It's been a tough preseason for the Cavs. First Anderson Varejao's grandfather died, now Williams' father-in-law.

First off: The Cavaliers waived Danny Green after the game. That gets the roster to 15, but there is always the chance the Cavs could pick up a player released by another team. For now, Manny Harris and Samardo Samuels, a pair of undrafted rookies, are safe on the roster.

* Byron Scott has tinkered with three-guard lineups the last couple of games and he's doing it again tonight. Anthony Parker, Ramon Sessions and Boobie played part of the quarter together and looked pretty good. That type of lineup won't work against every team, but when the Sixers are starting Tony Battie at center, this is a good time to use it.

* Anderson Varejao is off to a fast start in his preseason debut. Varejao had six points (3 of 4 shooting) and four rebounds, while Mo Williams had three assists. Williams has already played seven minutes and Varejao 8 1/2. Byron Scott wants to keep both players between 20 and 25 tonight.

Daniel Gibson believes the Cavs can win every game they play. So it was no surprise when he went on The T.Ocho show today and called for a Cavaliers victory over LeBron James and the Miami Heat on Dec. 2.

"I'm going out on a limb and going to say that Cleveland is going to bring that game home," Gibson said on the show, which airs tonight at 10:30 p.m. on Versus.

Mo Williams (groin) is a surprise starter tonight in the Cavaliers' game against the 76ers. Williams endured a physical practice Monday and woke up today feeling good. After breezing through shootaround and feeling good this morning, Byron Scott agreed to insert him into the starting lineup.

* This is the healthiest the Cavs have been all of camp. Antawn Jamison (knee) and Mo Williams (groin) are the only two players expected not to play because of injuries. And if the regular season started tonight, it sounds as if both could play.

As far as national perception is concerned, this was the wrong night for the Cavaliers to turn in their worst performance of the preseason.

They were already the punchline of many national jokes after LeBron's departure, and losing to a team from Moscow isn't going to help matters any. The Lakers lost to FC Barcelona last week, but this loss will probably draw more attention.

* Cavs had multiple defensive breakdowns early in the quarter. Their failure to rotate gave 32-year-old sharpshooter Ramunas Siskauskas plenty of open 3s, and he hit 'em all as Moscow opened double-digit lead. Defense tightened as the quarter progressed and Cavs able to slice into lead.

* Forgot to mention sooner: Jawad Williams not with the team tonight. His wife, Angel, gave birth to the couple's first child on Friday. Nailah Denise Williams weighs 6 pounds, 10 ounces and measures 19 inches. All are well.

I know what you're going to say: "STOP WRITING ABOUT LEBRON! I DON'T CARE ABOUT LEBRON!"

That's fair and I understand. Still, I still work for the AKRON Beacon Journal and LeBron is still from Akron. And he still has many supporters here, too. Therefore, from time to time, I'll have blog postings and tweets about James. If you don't want to read them, feel free to skip over them.

Cavs 106, Spurs 80By the time I made it into the Cavs locker room tonight, the ice bags had already been removed from Antawn Jamison's sore left knee. Anthony Parker sat on the training table getting his finger wrapped.

The injuries are mounting for the Cavs, but no one seems overly concerned right now. That may or may not change tomorrow, when the players are reevaluated at Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich knows Mike Brown better than most anyone. Brown was his top assistant before leaving to take the Cavaliers job five years ago.

"Mike did a fantastic job while he was in Cleveland," Popovich said. "But in this business, circumstances often dictate what happens. Sometimes circumstances have more to do with a coach's dismissal than anything he did as far as being a coach is concerned. He’ll land someplace when he decides to get back in because he is a very good coach, he’s a very good man."

Pregame notes:* The Spurs are using almost all backups tonight. Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson were given the day off and aren't even with the team. All of them flew directly to San Antonio following the Spurs' game in Mexico City earlier this week.

As expected, the Cavaliers trimmed their roster by two tonight when they waived former Cleveland State guard Cedric Jackson and forward Tasmin Mitchell.

Jackson played six minutes over two preseason games for the Cavs, but Mitchell never made it into a game. Mitchell, who ranks third at LSU on the all-time scoring list, was unsuccessful in trying to transition from a power forward into a wing player.

Anderson Varejao felt great to be back at practice and among his teammates. Whether or not he plays in tomorrow night's preseason game against the Spurs in Pittsburgh won't be decided until after tomorrow morning's practice. Yes, practice. Just as he has done before, Byron Scott is planning on putting the players through another rigorous practice only hours before they play a game.

Varejao admits his ankle is still sore and not 100 percent. Given that, I'd be surprised if Scott played him, seeing how he is stressing that he doesn't want Mo Williams back until his groin injury is 100 percent healed.

Cavs legendary radio announcer Joe Tait remains hospitalized in Houston, where he is being treated for pneumonia. Tait is expected to remain in Houston for at least another day or so before returning to Cleveland.

Tait experienced discomfort and chest pains both during and after the Cavs' victory at Houston Sunday night. He was taken to The Methodist Hospital and will remain there until returning home when he is cleared by doctors. Television play by play man Fred McLeod will handle radio duties for tonight's game in Dallas, since FSN Ohio is not televising the game.

Leon Powe will finally get to break open his NBA2K11 video game on Friday. A video game freak, Powe has been so exhausted by the time he gets home at night, he's been too tired to even break open the plastic wrapper. But the veterans will get their first day off on Friday -- and just in time.

* Bad night for Cavs shooters. Danny Green had a miserable night on Tuesday and hasn't been much better thus far, including an air ball. Jawad Williams has missed open jumpers and botched a layup after he had a clear path to the basket. Yikes.

Anderson Varejao returned to the Cavaliers for this morning's shootaround, but he isn't expected to play in tonight's preseason game against Washington.

Varejao returned to Brazil last week for his grandfather's funeral. Coach Byron Scott is expected to bring him along slowly while Varejao's injured right ankle heals, he learns the new offense and he gets in proper condition. Scott isn't expecting him to play at Houson on Sunday or at Dallas on Monday, either.

* Byron Scott expects Jawad Williams, Leon Powe, Christian Eyenga and Samardo Samuels to see extended minutes tomorrow night against Washington. Powe and Eyenga didn't play at all against Charlotte, Williams played the entire fourth quarter and Samuels played about five minutes after other guys got into foul trouble.

* Samuels is an intriguing prospect. Undrafted rookie out of Louisville led the Cardinals in scoring and rebounding last season as a sophomore. He's a McDonald's All-American and typically those guys don't miss. Another year of college and he certainly would've been drafted, probably in the first round. But he wanted to come out now and felt he was ready. He likes the situation in Cleveland, but he's more of a forward than a center. And the Cavs are stocked at power forward with J.J. Hickson and Antawn Jamison. A feature on Samuels is coming in the Beacon within a week or so.

* Byron Scott has talked throughout camp about the divide within the team. The veterans have grasped the offense, the younger players are still struggling. That has been evident tonight. Guys like Anthony Parker, Antawn Jamison, Ramon Sessions and even Ryan Hollins have played well. Some of the younger guys, like Danny Green, have really struggled.

* The Cavaliers may have a real find in Ramon Sessions. Runs the floor well, seems comfortable in the offense and has a presence about him on the floor. Could be a nice surprise on a team desperate to find one.

* Byron Scott is hollering for the Cavs to run after every rebound. "Let's go! Let's go!" was shouted over and over.

Byron Scott has penciled in Anderson Varejao as his starting center. He has J.J. Hickson as his 4, leaving Antawn Jamison as a question mark. He'll either start at the 3 or serve as the sixth man, but Scott said he hasn't decided yet.

We've got a game in a few days and we still have some guys making the same mistakes they made day one. We have to clean that up a little bit more. Like I told them, I'm very simple. You have to play hard as hell for me and you have to defend every single night, but you have to understand what we're doing on the offensive end. We got a few more days to work on it before our first game and we're definitely going to get better at it.

There was no sign of LeBron James anywhere in Rhodes Arena Friday night -- on the floor or in the stands. A surprise crowd of more than 4,000 came out to watch the Cavaliers scrimmage and those who didn't burn their James jerseys left them at home.

Antawn Jamison was a late scratch with tendinitis in his left knee. He joined Mo Williams (groin strain) on the bench and even got to coach the Wine team in the fourth quarter (Anthony Parker coached Gold in the fourth).